Gas Powered Games announces layoffs days after launching Kickstarter campaign

Gas Powered Games announces layoffs

Shortly after launching a Kickstarter campaign to drum up financing for its latest project, developer Gas Powered Games has announced “substantial” layoffs.

Headed by Canadian-born chief executive Chris Taylor, Gas Powered Games has revealed plans for a round of job cuts just days after launching a US$1.1-million Kickstarter campaign to fund the studio’s next game, Wildman.

In an interview with Joystiq, Mr. Taylor said around 40 people have been affected by these layoffs. It’s a decision that Mr. Taylor says came out of necessity.

“Today we laid off a substantial number of the team,” Mr. Taylor said in the Kickstarter video.

“The reason was if I ran this team through the entire Kickstarter campaign and it fails to fund then I have to let everyone go, shut the company down, no one gets any unpaid PGO or severance. I really, really felt like it was a crazy idea to gamble in this economy and gamble with the people here who are the most talented and loyal people. To play a card game with their livelihood is not smart.”

A veteran of the video game world, Mr. Taylor began his career at Distinctive Software, one of the first Canadian video game studios, which eventually was acquired by Electronic Arts Inc.

At the end of the video, Mr. Taylor asks viewers to decide if they want him to continue the Kickstarter campaign and to determine whether enough support exists to bring Wildman to production. There has been no word from the company, which is based in Redmond, Washington, about whether Wildman will be put on hold.

Gamers were quick to react to the news on Twitter:

Interesting turn of events for the people of Gas Powered Games today. I hope their project gets funded. Jobs are good. @DeathBot9#wildman

Wildman is an action RPG designed to include a mix of different game genres, including real-time strategy elements. The Kickstarter campaign began only days ago, but now Mr. Taylor is asking his backers if they should continue funding the project.

The game developer had been providing regular updates to track the game’s progress.